Mia and Rolo are a great pair. Check out his weaves and enthusiasm for attacking a course! All this is possible with reward based training. There's never any punishment for getting things wrong in our sessions, or forcing them into situations they're not comfortable with. Agility is all about having fun after all. We build confidence on the equipment slowly and we never push them through tunnels or drag them over equipment on lead, it's all the dogs choice. This approach means the dog learns how to move their body independently of the handler, and because learning is taken at their pace, the dog builds trust in the handler. This pair have a great relationship and Rolo can't wait to get going each session. If we incorporated punishment he would not have this much joy in his Agility. He loves to do activities with Mia and she's worked hard with him to create a confident, friendly, well-rounded friend.
I have heard of a resurgence of trainers telling owners to use a squirt bottle to "correct" their pet. This might sometimes succeed in suppressing an unwanted behaviour, but at what cost. The dog potentially becomes fearful of their owner, worried about water and they have experienced an unpleasantness paired with whatever was causing the unwanted behaviour so they may feel even worse about it. It doesn't address the underlying emotion causing the behaviour. The same thing applies to shock collars, prong collars, slip leads if used without a stopper, tightening head collars, tightening harnesses, rattle bottles, shouting, yanking on the lead etc. These just aren't necessary, there's always a punishment-free option! Training will depend on the dog and the situation, but there's never a need to intimidate, frighten or punish a dog. Oh, and you don't have to be "pack leader" either, that whole thing is long debunked.
So to have a happy dog like Rolo who loves to do activitieswith his owner, positive relationship building is key!
If anyone wants a sneak peek at this week's course, watch this to walk the course with me! It has a nice mix of flowing parts and some chances to practice lots of different types of crosses and gives the opportunity for different handling choices. I love playing with a new course design each week :)
Woo hoo! Luna has got her weaves for the first time! When you're training in Agility, it's always a special moment when they can do 12 closed poles in a row for the first time. I'm so unbelievably happy for them! She did so well!
I know I recently did a post on Rolo, but he was on fire today! Not only did he do his first awesome clear round, HE COMPLETED THE WEAVES FULLY CLOSED FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! Anyone in the beginner stages of Agility training will appreciate what a big deal this is ❤️
It's time to celebrate Chomsky! I've known this little guy since he was a puppy when he began his basic training. He went on to do Rally for a while and was good at that, but his best talent lies in Agility. I honestly can't believe he's 6 now! How has it been that long?! He's become an accomplished little Agility dog. We've had a few weeks off for various reasons and switched to evenings for the summer, but Chomsky lost no time in showing us he hasn't forgotten anything and blasted round this weeks course effortlessly. He brings his owners so much joy, they dote on him, he couldn't want for anything more. He deserves it as he's a super boy!
It was a lovely evening to build this week's courses (after gathering various bits of equipment that had travelled across the field during yesterday's crazy weather 😆)
It's that time of year again! First proper whole-field mow of the year. All ready for this week's 121's and classes!
Take a look at Paul and Chomsky running in their second ever Agility competition! They got 2 out of 2 clear rounds, couldn't be happier for them! What a lovely smooth run this was. Massive achievement to pull off a run like this in only their second ever live competition. What a great team. Congratulations! 🎊
Can we all give it up for Kirstie and Maddie who did something amazing this weekend?! They WON their Grade 1 Jumping run yesterday at Colchester Agility Show with this brilliant round! Such a beautiful, smooth clear round. Massive congratulations and all that hard work is paying off 👏 Incredibly proud of them 😍 (Getting this news made up for me missing the entry deadline for this show!)
Give This A Go!
🐶 Relaxing for dog and human
🐶 Give choice back
🐶 Confidence building
🐶 Deepen trust
We control so much of our dogs life. When and what they eat, when and where we walk them, when to do training, what training to do, we tell them to stop barking, stop digging, stop jumping up, stop pulling, come back here, stop sniffing that, we decide if and when they can have a snack and sometimes even when to go to the toilet! It's no wonder some dogs feel stressed trying to fit into our lives, it seems every choice they make is the wrong one. Some dogs respond by simply not trying out new behaviours and giving up doing anything at all which can look like calmness at first glance. Some dogs become frustrated and this manifests itself in mouthing, barking, destructive behaviour.
Try this simple activity next time you are out on a walk. Let your dog decide which direction to go! Simply walk out of the house and follow your dog. If they stop to sniff, stop with them for as long they want. They might follow a familiar route, or take you down a random street, or double back on themselves. They might stay out for ages or they might take themselves home early. Try to keep a loose lead. When you are not on a road, switch to a long line to give your dog more freedom, still following them wherever they want to go. The freedom of choice can be relaxing for the dog as they are getting go make decisions without human interference. If you can't let them off the lead, the looseness of a long line prevents the frustration of being physically restricted. You'll feel more physically present with them as you watch them do what they choose and it's fascinating seeing what they do given the freedom of choice.
(I did this with my three at the weekend. They took me to the park first of all, then up the road to another park, then through some fields, back through the first park and eventually took themselves home after 1.5 hours. I chose one of them in particular to f
Look at Peggy go! She can really put a course together :) Nice smooth rear cross at the end there, you guys looked awesome on this run.
Luna was on fire today! She is showing off her Hoopers skills, what a brilliant run. Well done Janice and Luna 👏👏👏
